All 48 passengers killed as plane crashes near Tehran

A plane of Air Iran-140 crashed in the residential area o Tehran just after minutes it take-off from Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning. All 48 passengers including crew members have been reportedly killed.

The official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the civil aviation authority said the passengers included two infants and three children under the age of 12.

The plane was headed to the eastern city of Tabas, the IRNA and Fars news agencies said, and crashed at 9.18 am (0448 GMT). The official IRINN television channel said the plane crashed in the Azadi neighbourhood, west of the airport

Iran’s aviation sector has suffered repeated crashes, which is due to the aging aircrafts. Many of the Boeing aircraft in IranAir’s fleet were bought before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, which disrupted ties with the US and Europe.